The NFL free agency signing period opened yesterday with three of the biggest names on the list quickly signing with new teams. With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire at the end of the 2011 season and with 2010 expected to be played uncapped, it was the Bears, Giants and Dolphins showing no fear wading into the free agency waters and making a splash.
Peppers Highlights First Day Of Free Agent Signings
The Bears struck first with the biggest name on the market in Carolina Panthers DE Julius Peppers. With Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith and the executive team on the hot seat, the conservative Bears opened their wallets to save their own hides. Despite being on the north side of 30, Peppers was showered with a six-year deal worth up to $91.5 million, with $42 million guaranteed. Taking advantage of the uncapped season, the Bears loaded $20 million into the first season of the contract. The Bears were very busy yesterday, also signing Vikings RB Chester Taylor and San Diego TE Brandon Manumaleuna.
It’s do or die in the Windy City.
A similar atmosphere loomed in the Meadowlands yesterday, with the New York Giants scrambling to fill holes in a defense that went from being the best in the NFL to the worst in the NFL in the middle of one season. With gaping holes at linebacker and safety, the Giants will likely address these areas of need in both the free agency signing period and at the draft. With a treasure trove of linebackers in the draft, the Giants passed on Arizona LB Karlos Dansby and signed his teammate, S Antrel Rolle, fresh off his first Pro Bowl since converting from cornerback.
Rolle was released by the Cardinals last week in a salary dump move. Rolle was due a $3 million roster bonus as well as an $8 million salary for the final season of his contract. The Giants were quick to swoop in and pick up the top safety on the market and make him the highest paid safety in NFL history. The deal is a five-year contract worth $37 million, of which $15 million is guaranteed.
After losing out on Rolle, the Miami Dolphins targeted Dansby to fill the hole left by the departure of the talented malcontent LB Joey Porter. Dansby is the first change made under new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to fix a defense that melted under pressure and caused the Dolphins to miss out on back-to-back playoff appearances. Dansby was awarded a five year deal worth $43 million, with $22 million guaranteed.
The first day of free agency was marked by defense, defense, defense. Outside of the Baltimore Raven’s trade for Anquan Boldin, very little news occurred on that side of the ball. Expect to see momentum pick up on offensive signings in the next few days.
With a looming lockout and potential uncapped season lying in front of the NFL and its players, the 2010 NFL free agency signing period will be one of the most unique in years. Teams will be unsure of who to go after and what type of contract they should offer. Players will be concerned with what looms in their future if a resolution between the players and league cannot be reached.
Owens Back On The Market
But one for thing is for sure, Jerry Jones is loving the jambalaya stew he’s cooked up with his greedy thirst to purchase his next Lombardi Trophy.
Here are some of the interesting highlights during this signing period:
Jason Campbell, QB Washington Redskins
The Redskins have a new coach and another new offensive system. Mike Shanahan knows how to develop a quarterback, so Jason Campbell could finally be in good hands. As a restricted free agent, it is likely that the Skins will tender him because there are no better options in the open market. Campbell has improved significantly over the last two years, although it has been overshadowed by poor coaching and personnel decisions. Expect the Skins to re-sign Campbell to a short-term agreement and draft Sam Bradford in the upcoming draft.
Chester Taylor, RB Minnesota Vikings
Here’s a guy your heart bleeds for. He was the Vikings’ big free agent signing in 2006, ran for a solid 1,216 yards and proved his worth. They go and draft Adrian Peterson and the rest is history. Taylor is probably the best running back in the NFL not starting or splitting duties at the RB position. At age 30, he likely has little left in the tank, but you really want to pull for this guy to get a nice contract which he deservedly earned. Hopefully he’ll get a chance for a few more carries in his next stop.
Terrell Owens, WR Buffalo Bills
Surprise, Surprise. T.O. is a free agent again. After one very underperforming season, the Buffalo Bills said adieu to everyone’s favorite malcontent. But don’t cry for T.O., there is a sucker born every minute and it appears that its John Harbaugh’s time to assume the position of village idiot. Expect T.O. to land in Baltimore very quickly.
Bobbie Williams, OL Cincinnati Bengals
This is the last guy Carson Palmer wants to see leave, but he might as well pack the bags for the guy who protects his hide. The Bengals proved this past season that if Palmer is healthy they are a team to be reckoned with. But given Williams’ perceived value in the open market, it is unlikely that Cincy will be able to afford to bring him back.
Julius Peppers, DL Carolina Panthers
It is very unlikely that the Panthers will franchise Peppers for another season and pay him an exhorbitant one-year salary. And the rest of the league knows it. Already, Peppers is the top name in the free agency rumors mills. It is already swirling that the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are interested. As good as Peppers has been, he is moving to the wrong side of thirty and it is unlikely that he can live up to the contract he will likely sign. His raw talent will make teams look past his inconsistency on the field and he’ll get one last big contract because a DL that can sack a QB is priceless.
Karlos Dansby, LB Arizona Cardinals
I realize Dansby has definitely started to slide back, but he is still under 30 and is the most high-profile LB at the position. And it doesn’t hurt that almost every other LB that is a free agent is restricted. Dansby’s unrestricted status will make him extremely appealing to teams not interested in having to give up a draft pick for simply signing him. It is unlikely Dansby will be back in Arizona as they re-tool their defense. Expect to see Dansby come East and land either with the New York Giants or Philadelphia Eagles.
Dunta Robinson, DB Houston Texans
Here’s one sure bet, Dunta Robinson wishes he could go back and reconsider his decision to sidestep training camp in a contract dispute like he did last season. Playing in a contract year, Robinson put up the worst stats of his career and became a liability on defense for the Texans. There no chance at all the Texans will franchise him, so he is jumping out of a plane without a parachute. Expect Robinson to languish on the free agency wire and be begging for a job.
Darren Sharper, DB New Orleans Saints
After being dumped by the Minnesota Vikings due to a poor 2008 season, the Saints took a chance on an aging safety with hopes that he had one more season left in him. What a signing! Not only did he have a season left in him, he single-handedly led the Saints defense to a Super Bowl championship, setting a record for interception yards in a season along the way. Unfortunately, the Saints have a lot a players to re-sign and Sharper will likely be the odd man out. Expect to see Sharper playing elsewhere in 2010.
Shayne Graham, K Cincinnati Bengals
Typically one of the most trustworthy kickers in the league, Graham hit rock bottom in his contract year. Early in the season, they cut his long-time long snapper Brad St. Louis after Graham went into a funk. Things improved and then came the playoffs. With his team in comeback mode, Graham missed a 28-yard field goal that took the wind out of the sails of his team and sent the fans heading to the gates. Kickers rarely survive after missing such a critical easy chip shot, so don’t expect Graham to be back in Cincy next year.
The big news coming out of the Meadowlands Friday was not the unsubstantiated rumors that Rick Pitino wants to embarrass himself with another failed stint in the NBA. It was actually the Giants releasing defensive leader Antonio Pierce. The Giants announced that it will not pick up the final year of his contract, worth a hefty $4.75 million.
The move does not come as a surprise. While Pierce has played adequately, he has never really lived up to the hype that surrounded him before joining the Giants. Pierce made just one Pro-Bowl, crossed the 100 tackle barrier just once and his numbers were going into serious decline. Adding to that mix a neck injury that will likely be a persistent issue for Pierce the rest of his career, this was an expected move.
Antonio Pierce Released By Giants
In 2009, Pierce rated as the 15th highest salary cap value at the linebacker position and 4th highest at the middle linebacker position. The highest salaries are typically reserved for that linebacker that can put pressure on the QB, not a field general with limitations in stopping the run. Pierce’s fire on the field never translated to better numbers for himself and it is questionable whether he improved the play of others.
ProFootballFocus.com provides some great insight into how Pierce stacked up in that middle linebacker position. In 2008, amongt MLBs that played 25% of their teams snaps, Pierce rated as the worst MLB in the pass rush, the worst at pass coverage and 36th against the run. All summed up, he was the worst starting MLB in the NFL in 2008 that played 25% of his teams snaps.
It didn’t get much better in 2009 as Pierce still rated towards the bottom, 40th out of 54 MLBs. Pierce rated 40th in pass rush, 47th in run coverage and 15th in pass coverage. The pass coverage rating is a little overstated, as Pierce got to bully some bottom feeder teams like the Redskins, Tampa Bay and Oakland. That’s not to mention that his nemesis that constantly ran him out of his shoes, Brian Westbrook, was hampered by injuries as well. The week he did play a team with pass catching RBs, New Orleans, Pierce got smoked.
The Giants put up with low production given his leadership role on that defense. That leadership withered in late 2008 due to his involvement in helping covering up the Plaxico Burress shooting and hiding the gun on behalf of his teammate. The Giants were unfortunately saddled with the media spotlight and a huge hit to the salary cap if they tried to dispose of Pierce before the 2009 season, otherwise Pierce would have been gone sooner.
New defensive coordinator Perry Fewell now gets to set the tone of his defense. The free agency ranks offer many options for the Giants to replace Pierce with a younger and more productive player. The MLB crop is deep, including the likes of Karlos Dansby, Barrett Ruud, Demeco Ryans, Barry Foote, D’Qwell Jackson and Gary Brackett. Each would be an upgrade over Pierce.
If Fewell doesn’t like his options on the Free Agency market, the draft has a couple of great future MLBs waiting to be plucked out that cannot miss. Alabama’s Rolando McClain, Florida’s Brandon Spikes and Penn State’s Sean Lee are all surefire picks that will be excellent NFL players and offer one of the deepest MLB crops in recent memory.
So to all those Giants fans fretting over Pierce…don’t lose too much sleep. He was more of a contributor to their defensive woes than we saw on the field. His constant jawing gave us comfort, but it didn’t translate into results.
Adding to the misery of the Minnesota Vikings fans after their devastating loss in the NFC Championship is whether their starting quarterback Brett Favre will be back next season. The question arises on whether he should return or retire.
Favre Ponders Retirement Again
Favre is coming off of one of his best statistical seasons of his career. He passed for 4202 yards with 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He also completed a impressive 68.4 of s passes. He led the Vikings to a 12-4 record , good enough to win the NFC North division.
Minnesota then defeated Dallas 34-3 in the division round of the playoffs in which Favre threw a career best four touchdown passes. He had the Vikings on the brink of the Super Bowl in New Orleans, when he made another poor decision that sealed their fate.
Most of the Minnesota players want him back next year. That is definitely in his favor for a return.
The poor decision in question is his third down pass that was intercepted when he had the Vikings in field gaol range at the end of regulation in the NFC Championship game. Instead of running, passing to a receiver in front of him, he threw cross field and got picked off.
This is what you get from a gunslinger like Favre.
He tries to force things when they are not there. While sometimes they pay off, this time it blew up in his face when it counted the most. Favre did the same thing a couple of years ago in Green Bay against the New York Giants. He again tried to force a pass, when there were other open receivers ,and it ended up with another interception. The Packers lost, and the Giants became Super Bowl Champions.
This seems to becoming a habit for #4.
I think that the rigors of the NFL season leaves Favre with nothing left at the end of the season both physically and mentally. This takes a toll on Favre and must effect his play deep in the playoffs. I would suggest that he hand the reigns to a younger quarterback. Favre does not have what it takes to to lead his team to the ultimate goal of a Super Bowl title. He should hang up the #4.
The Minnesota Vikings suffered a devastating loss yesterday at the hands of the New Orleans Saints 31-28 in overtime in the NFC Championship. It would be easy to blame some very shaky officiating in overtime, but a closer look tells the story of a team that has nobody to blame but themselves…
The Vikings outplayed the Saints everywhere but on the scoreboard. They moved the ball up and down on the field outgaining the Saints 475-257. The Vikes defense played more than well enough to get this team to the Superbowl. It was the miscues by the offense lead by Brett Favre that sealed their fate.
The Saints had more that a couple of “Home Town” calls in overtime. In particular was running back Pierre Thomas fourth and inches dive that appeared to be a certain first down. The officials went to replay. The replay showed that Thomas did not have control of the ball where the ball was spotted. It should have been spotted behind the first down marker giving the ball to the Vikings. Another big blown call was a catch by wideout Robert Meachem jut before the game winning field goal. Meachem’s catch was ruled a completion on the filed. The officials again reviewed the play that showed Meachem had trapped the ball. The Saints benefited again and Garret Hartley kicked a 40 yarder than sent them to the Super Bowl.The Vikings have reason to feel they were ripped off. If you going to rely on the instant replay, get the calls right. Everybody saw what I saw and it cost a team the right to play in the SuperBowl . WOW!
But as I said, this is only part of the story. If the Vikings protected the ball, it would of never have gotten to the point of overtime. Minnesota had five turnovers in all. Three fumbles and two interceptions. Percy Harvin fumbled deep in his own territory that lead to a Saints touchdown. Bernard Barrian also fumbled when the Vikes were on the move. But the biggest culprit was quarterback Brett Favre. Favre lost a fumble and had two picked off. The first two were drive killers and the last one sealed preventing them for ending the game at the end of regulation.
On third down and in field goal range, Favre made a decision that was reminiscent of a couple of years ago.Favre had room to run and a receiver right in front of him on the sideline that would of picked up very valuable yardage towards a game winning kick. But instead of seeing right in front of him, the gunslinger threw cross field that ended in a devastating interception. Green Bay fans will remember him doing that against the Giants a couple of years. Favre also had more viable options then but choked then as he did now. He will receive no sympathy form them. Favre ended up 28-46 for 310 yards, a touch and two picks. But it was his last pass, like Green Bay, that will be remembered by Viking fans. The Hall of Famer will have a long off season to think about a very poor decision.
The Vikings have lost five straight NFC Championship games. I have a little sympathy for them. I am a Eagles fan. They have lost four out of five. My advice for the fans of Minnesota is; Some things are not meant to be!
For the New York Giants, a season filled with high expectations and thoughts of another Super Bowl championship came to a perfectly fitting crash landing in Minnesota. Brett Favre and the Vikings offense lit up the once-vaunted Giant defense for 31 points in the first half alone, en route to a 44-7 thumping.
Axe Should Fall On Coughlin
The loss leaves many Giants fans scratching their head about how this could have happened after beginning the season 5-0. The implosion marks as one of the greatest collapses in NFL history, equaling the futility of the 1978 Washington Redskins, 1993 New Orleans Saints and 2003 Minnesota Vikings as the only teams to start a season 5-0 and fail to make the playoffs.
With the season now complete, it is time for Jerry Reese and the Mara family to make some tough decisions about the future of the team.
Not much changed in the area of personnel. The talent was there to win five games in a row, so it is definitely not about talent. In fact, most NFL pundits felt the Giants had actually improved its defense. To begin the season, the concerns were at wide receiver given the departure of Plaxico Burress, but that position turned out to be the greatest area of success for the team.
This leaves Reese with only one direction to look, that being his coaching staff. Coughlin has always been conservative, which is why he has endeared himself to the Giants’ ownership and their traditional football approach. But results on the field warrant a change on his coaching staff, starting with both coordinators Kevin Gilbride and Bill Sheridan. The players quit on these guys and neither can be allowed to return.
But should the coaching changes go further?
Super Bowl winning coaches are historically afforded much latitude to fail after delivering the Lombardi Trophy. Becoming a Super Bowl winning coach makes you part of a fraternity, a group whose coaching decisions are hard to question because for one magical season, they were flawless. Coughlin is the poster child of that group, having earned job security that was not justifiable given his body of work..
During that magical Super Bowl run, Coughlin’s future with the team was in jeopardy. Media reports had Coughlin finished in New York before defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and the players saved his job. He went from being forced into retirement to a football genius in the course of a few weeks. And unfortunately for the Giants, they are now back to where they were before that magical Super Bowl run.
It’s time for Jerry Reese to make a critical decision and he should look to the past for justification for firing Tom Coughlin. The 1978 season for the Redskins, the 1993 season for the Saints and the 2003 season for the Vikings were the beginning of a prolonged period of mediocrity for those franchises. Those teams didn’t hold the head coach responsible and those teams never visited the playoffs again under their helm.
Jack Pardee, Jim Mora and Mike Tice lost the confidence of their players and crippled their franchises. Each were given the opportunity to get their teams back in order and each failed to accomplish the task. While new players came into the locker room, the stench from the coach’s office could not be cleared out. Tom Coughlin’s future potential is about the same.
It’s time for Jerry Reese to do his job and help Coughlin clear out his office. It’s time for Coughlin to retire and if doesn’t do it voluntarily, it should be forced upon him. Bill Cowher is ready to return to the coaching ranks and he would fit nicely with the Giants organization.
It’s the end of the year. Its the end of a decade. Nothing great ever ends without a list and a debate over that list. Today, we focus on the 10 biggest sports villians of the 2000 decade and the behaviors that defined their dastardliness.
10. Alex Rodriguez
Talk about a guy that everywhere he goes, trouble seems to find him. While Rodriguez has not run afoul with the law, his personal indiscretions and smug attitude made him a pariah. C’mon, the guy has paintings of himself in his home as a centaur. Talk about an ego. He became this highest paid athlete in sports and blamed his use of steroids on the pressure he felt for signing that contract. Let me shed a tear for A-Rod. Like we’re supposed to believe it didn’t start until then and the cyst in his hip wasn’t the result of steroid abuse. Rodriquez has assured himself the status of the anti-Derek Jeter in New York, no matter how many home runs he hits or Hollywood starlets he invites to sit along the baselines.
9. Plaxico Burress
Burress proved that one player can bring a team to its knees. His nightclub incident where he accidently shot himself in the leg not only cost the Giants possible back-to-back Super Bowl championships, it landed him in prison for two years. Burress’ trangressions are numerous, including speeding, damaging leased vehicles and not showing up for events while taking fees. He’s just an all around bad dude.
8. Adam “Pacman” Jones
Talk about a waste of talent. Pacman came out of West Virginia with huge expectations for NFL success. Jones was on the verge of greatness after a terrific 2006 season. Then the details hit the police blotters. Assault, vandalism, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, marijuana possession, obstruction of justice, speeding, car seizure for use in drug dealing, and causing a shootout in a Las Vegas nightclub that caused a death. A rap sheet a mile long. The Dallas Cowboys gave him one last chance and he squandered that when he beat up the security guard assigned by the Cowboys to keep him out of trouble. And to think, he was on the college same team with recently deceased Chris Henry and never did we hear about trouble in Morgantown.
7. Allen Iverson
Iverson will never be able to live down his infamous 2002 press conference rant when he repeatedly scorned reporters for questioning him about “practice”. He became the poster child of selfishness and the lack of sportsmanship that exists in American professional sports. He was also a key member of the USA Olympic Basketball teams that fell from grace during the decade due to their inability to play a team sport as a team. Iverson is the epitome of what you should teach children not to become when they get older.
6. Barry Bonds
A sure bet, first ballot Hall Of Famer if not for his refusal to acknowledge his use of steroids. The guy was great even without the juice. Tied to the hip of the BALCO steroids case, Bonds smashed the single season and career home run records during the decade. Fans could have cared less. Bonds stopped endearing himself to the people whose admission price paid his salaries before the decade began, but made matters worse with his anger towards the media for essentially doing their job and fans for their desire for the truth. He now faces prison time for obstruction of justice and non-entry into the Hall Of Fame for simply not telling the truth about something that most everyone already believes he did anyways.
5. Terrell Owens
Who can forget the press conference in his driveway working out while his agent ran at the mouth? Or how about calling his quarterback in San Francisco a homosexual. Or questioning the commitment of his quarterback in Philadelphia after a Super Bowl loss. Or accusing his quarterback and tight end in Dallas of conspiring to not throw him the ball and crafting up their own plays in their hotel room on the road. The guy was a walking highlight real of paranoia that ripped apart every team he has played for from the inside out. Shockingly, his stay in Buffalo thus far has been relatively smooth…but lets give it more time. Owens always seems to be a lightning rod in season two of any stay.
4. Tim Donaghy
Did he make critical calls on games he bet or didn’t he? The FBI says no, but we’ll never truly know unless Donaghy decides to purge himself. Donaghy sticks by his story he made bets based on NBA referees and their known bias against certain players (see Villian #7 above for prime example). He also said he made bets based on how referees reacted to word coming down from headquarters on officiating improvements. Donaghy’s behavior placed a black eye on a sport where one foul call can make the difference in a game’s outcome. His behavior no doubt has contributed to the attendance slide and lack of fan interest in the NBA, even if he stands by his story that he never made a call to help with his bets.
3. Marion Jones
Another BALCO client that made millions through the use of PEDs to earn gold medals and become the darling of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Jones lied both to the public and under oath, sticking to the story that she never used steroids until the evidence mounted too high. Not until her pending court date did Jones finally repent in October 2007, admitting she used steroids prior to her Olympic stardom as part of a plea bargain to avoid a lengthy jail sentence. Jones spent 4 months in prison for perjury in the BALCO case and filed for bankruptcy. Jones’ story shows that cheating holds no gender boundaries and that the consequences can be steep when you refuse to repent.
2. Michael Vick
The behavior of Vick was needless to say despicable. And it goes well beyond his conviction of bankrolling and overseeing a dog fighting operation and personally killing some of losers of the fights. In 2005, Vick got his first taste of public scorn under his pseudonym Ron Mexico, accused of knowingly transmitting genital herpes to an Atlanta woman. Vick was detained and forced to surrender a water bottle with a hidden compartment during a airport security check in 2007. Vick also failed drug test for marijuana use. Given the run-ins, you gotta ask yourself how many chances does on guy get? Even if Tony Dungy vows you are a changed man and PETA cuts you some slack.
1. Bud Selig
The Commissioner of Major League Baseball sewed up his status as the top villain in sports very early in the decade and it was going to take a mass-murderer to knock from the throne. Selig has presided over the darkest days in the sport since 1919m as he looked the other way while baseballs flew out of ballparks and turnstiles were spinning at record levels. Baseball was a sport built on the foundation of stats and its greatest hitters failed 7 out of 10 times. While the owners and players got rich, the fans got the shaft. Selig’s retirement announcement could not have come sooner. Here’s hoping that the next decade will bring baseball back to its brighter days as Selig heads off out to the sunset.
The Dallas Cowboys take on the Washington Redskins tonight in Washington. To me, this is a must win game due to what is on the line ,and the momentum they are carrying off of their big win at the hands of the unbeaten New Orleans Saints 24-17 last Saturday. A loss would be devastating to both their playoff hopes and their psyche.
Tony Romo and the Cowboys hope to be smiling after tonight in Washington.
Dallas is 9-5 and right in the thick of both a wildcard spot and they even have a good shot at winning the NFC East. But they need to beat their division rival tonight in Washington. If the Boys win and the Giants lose to Carolina, Dallas would be in the playoffs. Dallas can pull off the NFC East if they win out and beat the Eagles in the final week. So there is a lot on the line for the Dallas Cowboys tonight.
Dallas looked great in their victory over the Saints and got great play from their quarterback Tony Romo. They add no turnovers and held the vaunted New Orleans Saints offense to their lowest output of the season. This is the momentum that you want to carry into the final weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs if you are fortunate to be there. Add this to the fact that their opponent the Redskins looked about as awful as you could look last Monday in their defeat at the hands of the Giants 45-12. The boys must win and carry their momentum.
I think the Cowboys will take out the Redskins and put themselves in a great position for the playoffs and set up a potential big game next week at home against the Eagles for the NFC East. Momentum will be carried tonight in Washington.
The New York Giants will be taking on the Washington Redskins tonight and is a must win if they want any chance of playing playoff football in January. If they were to lose tonight, they would need to win their last two games, need a lot of help, pull out some tiebreakers to get in. The Giants hope this is one of three straight victories they need to end the season to give them the best chance for the playoffs. The Giants would face Carolina next week and finish up in Minnesota. They have their work cut out for them to say the least.
The Giants and Tom Coughlin are in a must win tonight in Washington if they want to see the playoffs.
The Giants are currently 7-6 after starting off 5-0. They never thought they would be in a must win situation after week 13. There was a lot of talk about the GMEN being invincible after that start and now they find themselves fighting their playoff lives. It is a long season in the NFL ,and there are so many factors that can turn a promising season into a failure in a drop of a dime.
Last week the Giants dropped a shootout to their division rival Philadelphia Eagles 45-38. The Giants out gained the Eagles, but it was the big plays by the Eagles on offense and special teams that did the Giants in. One bright spot for the Giants was the play of their quarterback Eli Manning. Manning was 27-38 with 391 yards and three touchdowns. Maybe Eli can bring that momentum into Washington and make the Giants winners tonight.
To add to the Giants worries, the Redskins are playing good football right now and are coming off a impressive 34-13 victory in Oakland last week. Their playoff chances have been over for awhile, but they have been still playing with pride and passion. The Skins would love to win their last three games. This would not only give them momentum for next season but might save the job of their head coach Jim Zorn. Zorn needs these last three victories to give him a shot to be around next season. This game should be a old fashion knockout between to rivals in the NFC East on a Monday night in the Nation’s Capital.
According to published reports by the New York Post, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is doing his best Tammy Wynette impression and standing by his man, defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan. After another less than impressive showing in the 45-38 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the pressure is building for a change to get this once vaunted defense that took down the unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII back on track.
“I let him know my support for him and also let him know it has to be better,” Coughlin said. “We’re here for one reason. The inconsistency part of it is disturbing.”
After starting the season 5-0, the Giants have lost six of their last eight as they limp into Week 15 with a 7-6 record and dwindling chances at a playoff berth. After 5 games the Giants defense rated tops in the league. Ten weeks later, the powder keg lit in blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints, the defense has fallen to a 27th ranking in the league. The struggles are personified by the Giants league-worst red zone production, giving up touchdowns 70% of the time when an opponent crosses the 20 yard line.
The Giants problems have been specifically marked by their propensity to give up the big play. During the win streak, the Giant defense gave up just two plays over 40 yards. Since then, they have averaged over one big play per game, with 9 plays of over 40 yards in eight games. All of those big plays came in games in which the team lost.
So why is this talented defense blowing so many plays? It really gets down to the players not executing within the schemes called by the coaches. During the game against the Eagles, all three plays over 40 yards came on blown coverages. The players have the talent, as the Giants defense has no made many major changes from last season. In fact, the defense was improved with acquisitions of Michael Boley, Chris Canty and Rocky Bernard. The main difference in this year’s squad is the departure of Steve Spagnuola and the elevation of Sheridan to run the defense.
The recent benching decision of Osi Umenyiora and Fred Robbins has led to no different results on the field. The big plays keep happening even when they are not on the field. In fact, coming of the bench, Umenyiora has been explosive and Robbins has been terrific, even blocking an extra point attempt. Sheridan’s defensive schemes and play calling are problem, as they are too predictable and the players are being exploited by the lack of creativity that Sheridan displays at game time.
Where the problems start and end are with the defensive line. During the 2007 Super Bowl run, the Giants defense rated #1 in the NFL with 53 sacks. In 2008, the defense rated a solid #6 in the league with 42 sacks with the drop occurring late in the season as they led the league for most of the season despite the knee injury to Umenyiora. For 2009, the Giants rate #22 in the league with a meager 26 sacks and fall back to a worse rating is expected.
The unit is just not getting pressure on the other side of the line of scrimmage any longer. Opposing QBs once feared having to face the NFL’s best defensive line. Now QBs look forward to it, easily determining Giants blitz schemes and pickup part a helpless defensive backfield.
Coughlin can continue his defense of his boy Sheridan as much as he likes and support his failing coach. If the Giants implode and don’t run the table, they’ll be watching from home in January and his hand will be forced to find a new leader for his defense. The Giants organization and its fans expect the best from the Big Blue Wrecking Crew and heads will roll with the coaching staff, as the issues have nothing to do with the talent that is on the field.
